# Bernard Karfiol artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/bernard-karfiol/
Profile generated: 2026-05-31T11:34:30.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1886-05-06
- Nationality: American
- Movements: French modernism
- Common media: oil painting, watercolor

## About Bernard Karfiol

Bernard Karfiol (1886–1952) was a Hungarian-born American painter and watercolorist whose work drew deeply on French modernist traditions. Born in Hungary on May 6, 1886, he immigrated to the United States and established his practice in New York City by 1906. Karfiol pursued a distinctive artistic vision that sought to merge the formal clarity of Hellenic classical painting with the abstract concerns of twentieth-century modernism. His paintings reflect a synthesis of classical figuration and modernist structure, placing him among the generation of American artists who absorbed European avant-garde ideas while developing an independent pictorial language. Karfiol's work is represented in major institutional collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He is recorded in standard reference works including Bénézit's Dictionary of Artists and Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters.

## Common works and media

Karfiol is best known for oil paintings and watercolors that blend classical figuration with modernist abstraction. Common subjects include figure studies and compositions referencing Hellenic or classical themes rendered through a modernist lens. Works range from smaller works on paper to larger canvas paintings. With 187 lots recorded in the Appraisily auction database, his work appears with moderate frequency in the American art market.

## Market and appraisal context

Bernard Karfiol's works appear at auction primarily as oil paintings and watercolors, typically categorized under American Art or Post-War & Contemporary Art. Provenance linked to institutional exhibitions or well-documented gallery history can materially affect appraisal value. His inclusion in Bénézit and Fielding's reference dictionaries supports attribution confidence. Collectors should consider medium, dimensions, condition, and exhibition or publication history when evaluating individual works. The absence of a published catalogue raisonné means authentication may require specialist consultation.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine structured identity research from museum records, library authority files, and biographical dictionaries with auction-house context, sale records, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Bernard Karfiol, identity data is grounded in the Getty ULAN authority file, RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, VIAF, Wikidata, and the Library of Congress name authority.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/43490
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q822507
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/36883547/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500018085
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Karfiol
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/3001
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr2006031893